Liberty Finally Pulls Plug On Movie Service Vongo

Liberty Media's (LBTYA) Starz Entertainment is dropping the curtain on its Web movie service Vongo. It stopped accepting new subscribers on August 1, according to its Web site, and will end service for existing subscribers on September 30. No surprise here: Starz said Vongo wouldn't be long for this world back in May, when it launched Starz Play, a white-label version of the service through Verizon (VZ), and presumably other broadband providers if it can get the deals done.

Starz launched Vongo in 2006 but it attracted few subscribers and Starz ultimately decided it would rather not spend the money battling Apple's (AAPL) iTunes and Netflix (NFLX) to market a standalone movie service to consumers. Better idea: offer the same service through broadband providers, much like it offers the Starz movie channel through cable and satellite operators. Starz also cut the price to $5.99 a month for Starz Play from $9.99 for the now-departed Vongo.